VFF says questions remain over gas industry impacts

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling for more scientific research into the impact of onshore gas exploration and extraction.

It is urging farmers to attend community consultations into natural gas announced by the State Government.

Land management committee chairman Gerald Leach says it is expensive to take land out of the food production cycle and even more costly if it is permanently damaged.

He says there are a lot of unanswered questions about the potential impacts of the gas industry.

"There's a very legitimate fear of the unknown at the moment here in Victoria, because we don't know what the future holds that can be quite difficult, because the farmer doesn't know whether to put improvements into the property," he said.

"We don't know at this stage exactly who is and isn't likely to be affected."